Grammy award-winning soprano Hila Plitmann is a glittering jewel on the international music scene, known worldwide for her astonishing musicianship, light and beautiful voice, and the ability to perform challenging new works. She regularly premieres works by today’s leading composers while maintaining a vibrant and extraordinarily diverse professional life in film music, musical theatre, and song writing. View full bio…

Reviews

This unconventional opera might seem hard to stage, though a simple, effective production was presented by Lincoln Center Festival in 2007. Mr. Benjamin’s rumbling, spectral and mysterious music, scored for an unusual ensemble including basset horns and a banjo, worked its magic in Sunday’s taut, intense concert performance. The mellow-voiced mezzo-soprano Susan Bickley varied her sound and persona impressively as the Minister and the Minister’s Wife; the agile soprano Hila Plitmann brought radiant sound, even during passages of sky-high vocal writing, to the Stranger and the Minister’s Child. Both also sang the music of the Narrator and the Crowd.

Concert Review of Mostly Mozart Festival performance by the International Contemporary Ensemble, conducted by George Benjamin. Read the full review

Three pieces were instrumental compositions commissioned for the occasion, and Adams conducted fervently sturdy performances with the L.A. Phil New Music Group. It was a stimulating night at Walt Disney Concert Hall. All four composers will, undoubtedly, be back on Grand.

Christopher Cerrone’s “The Pieces That Fall to Earth,” a song cycle to texts by Bay Area poet Kay Ryan, was the evening’s hit. It featured soprano Hila Plitmann, who memorized the songs and acted them out with a compellingly dramatic punch, intensified by amplification.

Concert Review of LA Philharmonic’s Green Umbrella Series by L.A. Phil New Music Group, conducted by John Adams Read the full review

The soprano Hila Plitmann embraced the theatricality of the work, extracting intense expression from what is an abstract text and changing vocal timbre accordingly. There was something refreshingly relaxed about her technique, especially in the softer, more obviously melodic moments. Conductor André de Ridder effected the transitions smoothly, drawing a tense and dynamic performance from the musicians.

Concert Review of Romitelli’s An Index of Metals (London Premiere) by London Sinfonietta conducted by André de Ridder Read the full review

The performances are simply stellar and well-shaped with great color. Certainly worth exploring for those who are interested in new works of this type. It also seems to mark some further development of the composer’s artistic style and orchestral approach from earlier pieces as well. The Pacific Symphony and Chorale do great work here and Hila Plitmann’s voice serves these texts well in her interpretation.

CD Review of Danielpour’s Toward A Season of Peace (Naxos 8.559772), Cinemusical Read full review

The world-premiere recording of Richard Danielpour’s Toward a Season of Peace offers a dynamic performance that impresses with its immense forces and energetic playing and compels an emotional response with its pacifist sentiments and beautiful lyricism. Danielpour’s style is instantly accessible by virtue of its rich tonality and poignant melodies, and the flow of the music gives his oratorio a traditional appeal, with the right balance of dramatic tension and comforting release.

Soprano Hila Plitmann, the Pacific Chorale, and the Pacific Symphony, conducted by Carl St. Clair, give a lovely and reverent performance that is gorgeous in its harmonies and textures, and ultimately moving because of its simplicity and directness.